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Southwest Finland

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"Finland Proper" redirects here. For other uses, see Finland Proper (disambiguation).

Southwest Finland
Varsinais-Suomi (Finnish)
Egentliga Finland (Swedish)
Finland Proper
Region
Region of Finland Proper
Varsinais-Suomen maakunta
Landskapet Egentliga Finland
Coat of arms of Southwest Finland
Coat of arms
Southwest Finland on a map of Finland
Southwest Finland on a map of Finland
CountryFinland
Historical provinceFinland Proper
CapitalTurku
Other townsKaarina, Laitila, Loimaa, Naantali, Paimio, Pargas, Raisio, Salo, Somero and Uusikaupunki
Area
 • Total
10,910.05 km2 (4,212.39 sq mi)
Population
 (2022)
 • Total
485,567
 • Density45/km2 (120/sq mi)
GDP
[1]
 • Total€16.219 billion (2015)
 • Per capita€34,252 (2015)
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)
ISO 3166 codeFI-19
NUTS183
Regional animalRed fox
Regional birdWestern jackdaw
Regional fishBaltic herring
Regional flowerOak
Regional stoneRed granite
Regional lakePyhäjärvi
Websitevarsinais-suomi.fi

Southwest Finland (Finnish: Varsinais-Suomi, IPA: [ˈʋɑrs̠inɑi̯s̠ˌs̠uo̞̯mi]; Swedish: Egentliga Finland) is a region (Finnish: maakunta, Swedish: landskap) of Finland. It borders the regions of Satakunta, Pirkanmaa, Tavastia Proper (Kanta-Häme), Uusimaa, and Åland. The regional capital and most populous city is Turku, which was the capital city of Finland before Helsinki.

The region largely corresponds to the historical province of Finland Proper. Until 2019, its official English name was Finland Proper,[2] a designation still used in Finnish (Varsinais-Suomi) and Swedish (Egentliga Finland).

Origin of the name Finland Proper

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The seal of Finland Proper from 1326

The name Finland Proper has historical roots. In Early Middle Ages, in the area of the present-day Southern Finland was inhabited by three main tribes: the Finns, the Tavastians and the Karelians. The southwestern part of the country, where the Finns lived, was originally called simply Finland (Suomi in Finnish).

By the 17th century, the name Finland began to be used for a broader area, creating a need for a more specific name for this region. The earliest recorded terms for "Finland Proper" appeared in Latin in the 1650s as Fennigia specialiter dicta and Fennigia presse dicta. Later, in the 18th century, the Swedish terms Finland för sig sielft and Egenteliga Finland emerged. The modern Swedish name Egentliga Finland became officially recognized by the end of the century, while the Finnish equivalent, Varsinais-Suomi, was established around the 1850s.[3]

Geography

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Turku Archipelago

Southwest Finland's nature differs from other regions. The most notable biotopes are the Archipelago Sea and groves. 80% of Finland's insect species can be found in Southwest Finland.[4] There are around 20,000 islands near the coast.[5]

The southernmost point of Southwest Finland and the southernmost inhabited island is Utö.[6] Its highest point is 164 meters in Kiikala.[7]

Historical provinces

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Main article: Finland Proper (historical province)

Heraldry

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The region uses the coat of arms of the historical province of Finland Proper. The knight's helmet motif on the coat of arms has been interpreted as symbolizing born of the court of Duke of Finland, the in the southern part of the duchy, as well as the region's position as the center of the eastern parts of Sweden known as Österland.[8]

Municipalities

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Main article: Municipalities of Southwest Finland

The region of Southwest Finland consists of 27 municipalities, 11 of which have city status (marked in bold).

Municipalities on the map

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class=notpageimage|
Cities and municipalities of Southwest Finland.

Sub-regions

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Loimaa sub-region:

Turku sub-region:

Åboland–Turunmaa sub-region:

Salo sub-region:

Vakka-Suomi sub-region:

List of municipalities

[edit]
Raisin sausage
Coat of
arms 		Municipality Population Land area
(km2) 		Density
(/km2) 		Finnish
speakers 		Swedish
speakers 		Other
speakers
Coat of arms of Aura, Finland Aura 3,965 95 42 96 % 1 % 3 %
Coat of arms of Kaarina Kaarina 36,563 151 243 88 % 5 % 6 %
Coat of arms of Koski Tl Koski Tl 2,185 192 11 96 % 0 % 5 %
Coat of arms of Kimitoön Kimitoön 6,369 687 9 30 % 67 % 4 %
Coat of arms of Kustavi Kustavi 967 166 6 91 % 2 % 5 %
Coat of arms of Laitila Laitila 8,488 532 16 87 % 0 % 12 %
Coat of arms of Lieto Lieto 20,666 301 69 94 % 1 % 5 %
Coat of arms of Loimaa Loimaa 15,304 848 18 95 % 0 % 6 %
Coat of arms of Marttila Marttila 1,919 195 10 96 % 1 % 3 %
Coat of arms of Masku Masku 9,577 175 55 96 % 1 % 3 %
Coat of arms of Mynämäki Mynämäki 7,478 520 14 96 % 1 % 4 %
Coat of arms of Naantali Naantali 20,108 313 64 94 % 1 % 4 %
Coat of arms of Nousiainen Nousiainen 4,659 199 23 97 % 1 % 3 %
Coat of arms of Oripää Oripää 1,302 118 11 92 % 1 % 9 %
Coat of arms of Paimio Paimio 11,227 239 47 95 % 1 % 5 %
Coat of arms of Pargas Pargas 14,880 884 17 42 % 55 % 5 %
Coat of arms of Pyhäranta Pyhäranta 1,920 144 13 97 % 1 % 3 %
Coat of arms of Pöytyä Pöytyä 8,013 750 11 96 % 1 % 5 %
Coat of arms of Raisio Raisio 25,717 49 527 85 % 1 % 12 %
Coat of arms of Rusko Rusko 6,420 127 50 95 % 2 % 3 %
Coat of arms of Salo Salo 50,867 1,987 26 91 % 1 % 8 %
Coat of arms of Sauvo Sauvo 2,964 253 12 91 % 2 % 7 %
Coat of arms of Somero Somero 8,430 668 13 94 % 1 % 5 %
Coat of arms of Taivassalo Taivassalo 1,690 140 12 93 % 1 % 7 %
Coat of arms of Turku Turku 206,035 246 839 78 % 5 % 15 %
Coat of arms of Uusikaupunki Uusikaupunki 14,819 503 29 92 % 0 % 8 %
Coat of arms of Vehmaa Vehmaa 2,249 189 12 94 % 0 % 5 %
Total 494,781 9,097 54

84 %

6 %

10 %

Demographics

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Historical population
YearPop.±%
1980406,360—    
1985415,899+2.3%
1990425,282+2.3%
1995435,119+2.3%
2000447,103+2.8%
2005455,584+1.9%
2010465,183+2.1%
2015474,323+2.0%
2018478,582+0.9%
2020481,403+0.6%
Source: Statistics Finland

As of 2020, Southwest Finland had a population of 481,403, making it the third most populated Finnish region after Uusimaa and Pirkanmaa. 86.45% speak Finnish, 5.68% Swedish and 7.86% speak other languages, the most common being Russian, Estonian, Arabic, Kurdish and Albanian.

It has the most summer cottages out of any Finnish region, with 49,000 as of 2012.[10]

Significant foreign resident groups [11]
31 December 2020
1  Soviet Union 6,153
2  Estonia 4,092
3  Iraq 3,775
4  Yugoslavia 2,934
5  Iran 1,964
6  Somalia 1,807
7  Vietnam 1,023
8  Romania 960
9  Poland 948
10  Thailand 914
11  Afghanistan 834
12  China 816
13  Russia 757
14  Syria 669
15  Turkey 624
16  Germany 555
17  Ukraine 550
18  Sweden 511
19  United Kingdom 477
20  Latvia 458

Politics

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Results of the 2023 Finnish parliamentary election in Southwest Finland:

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Regions and Cities > Regional Statistics > Regional Economy > Regional GDP per Capita, OECD.Stats. Accessed on 16 November 2018.
  2. ^ "Alueluokitusmuutokset 1.1.2019 | Tilastokeskus" [Changes in regional classification on 1 January 2019] (in Finnish). Stat.fi. 7 January 2019. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
  3. ^ Suomalainen paikannimikirja. Jyväskylä: Gummerus. 2007. ISBN 978-951-593-976-0.
  4. ^ "Essay Writing Help at Its Finest".
  5. ^ "Saaristoon – Saaristoon". Archived from the original on 4 December 2020. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
  6. ^ Turun Sanomat
  7. ^ "Hyypp r nharju, Kultal hde ja S r m ki - Salon kaupunki". www.salo.fi. Archived from the original on 6 May 2013.
  8. ^ "Maakuntavaakuna" (in Finnish). Varsinais-Suomen liitto. Retrieved 17 February 2025.
  9. ^ a b c d "Area of Finnish Municipalities 1.1.2018" (PDF). National Land Survey of Finland. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  10. ^ "Tiesitkö tätä kesämökeistä? 10 faktaa".
  11. ^ Statistics Finland
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Finland Proper.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Finland Proper.
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